The Phasing Out of Windows 7

Are you or your company still running Window 7? If so we’re afraid to say that Windows 7 is now reaching the end of its life cycle and an upgrade to the latest O/S is soon to be necessary for the security of your machines and all electronic data that may be stored on them. This is due to the fact that come January 14th 2020, when Microsoft end their extended support, they’ll no longer be patching any security threats that a Windows 7 machine may be subject to in in the future.

What is a Patch and what does it do:

A patch, in layman’s terms is just another word for a fix or an improvement if you like, think of it like having a cut and then putting a band aid over it to stop it from bleeding. If a vulnerability or loophole is found within a computer system or a specific part of a programs code then a patch is then put over it to prevent that problem from being exploited or taken advantage of. A patch is basically a band aid for a computer system or program that is posing as a security risk.

Microsoft’s support groups:

Microsoft offers 2 kinds of support for their operating systems ending on different dates in order to make more time to work on new features, security updates and patches for their newer operating systems, e.g. Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. The first line of support that Microsoft offer is their “Mainstream Support”, This line of support includes the addition of new features and updates for them new features. Whereas the second line of support which is called “Extended Support” is purely for security updates/patches only. Extended support comes into play once the mainstream support period has ended.

Whilst an operating system is still completely safe to use once mainstream support has ended. It is highly unsafe and NOT recommended at all to continue using an outdated O/S once the extended support period has ended.

Here are just a few reasons why:

Vulnerability to Malware.

Vulnerability to Ransomware.

Vulnerability to System Exploitation.

Vulnerability to Data Theft.

Windows 7’s mainstream support period ended on January 13th 2015, however this has no effect to those still using Windows 7 up until the extended support period ends on the aforementioned January 14th 2020. Please note that Windows 8.1 has also hit its end date for mainstream support, although extended support does not end until January 10th 2023, meaning that it’s completely safe to use until the said date.

We would strongly urge anyone still running Windows 7 to seriously consider upgrading their operating system to the latest Windows 10 as a matter of urgency. Both mainstream and extended support are still available for Windows 10. And I’m happy to say that extended support is still been offered to all Windows 10 users until October 14th 2025.

Why Windows 10 might you ask:

Windows 10 is still currently within its mainstream support period, meaning that Microsoft are still providing features and updates for this operating system, and that’s not all! As if this wasn’t good enough, the extended support period for Windows 10 as mentioned above does not end until nearly 6 years from now! This provides you and your company with that extra peace of mind knowing that your systems security is fully up to date and that you are being protected from all of those loopholes and glitches to which Microsoft work around the clock patching to keep you’re systems safe.

Your I.T and security is our priority and we’d hate to see any anyone fall victim to security threats due to using old and outdated firmware.

For more information regarding the phasing out of Windows 7, or if you’d like our help upgrading to Windows 10, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on: +44 (0)1740 623 582 or send an email to myself (Ryan) at: rclarke@lanesystems.co.uk

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